AS THE Davao City to General Santos City to Bitung, Indonesia Asean Roro Route is set to be launched on Sunday, April 30, some products coming from the Philippines are still not allowed to enter the Indonesian market due to issues on customs immigration and quarantine services (CIQS), an official of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDa) said.
"We have been supporting the private sector in the lifting of the restrictions from 2013 until now. There are still some products that may not enter due to the CIQS regulations. It is being worked on by the task force including MinDa," said Eamarie Gilayo, MinDa International Relations Division development management officer 3, during the press conference on the sea trade route at the Apo View Hotel on Friday.
She said among the products that cannot be initially exported by traders in the city for the first voyage of the vessel to Indonesia include toys, shoes, cosmetic products, pharmaceuticals, and fresh fruits.
Gilayo said the Philippine Inter-agency Task Force for the sea trade route is closely working together with their counterparts in Indonesia in a bid to have these restrictions lifted.
She said once the restrictions are lifted, trading between the two countries will be liberalized further for all goods to be accepted in both countries.
Among the goods that will be traded initially include animal feeds, aqua products, charcoal, coffee beans, construction materials, copra, cordage, corn, feed ingredients, fertilizers, food and beverages, high value crops, ice crean products, lumber, matured coconut, meat, peanut, halal poultry, soya, sugar, synthetics, and vegetables.
For her part, doctor Maria Lourdes Monteverde, past president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) and proponent of the Asean Roro project, said Indonesia's Miinistry of Trade has also lifted the restrictions on housewares, electronics, and textiles.
Sea route launch
This Sunday the Davao City-General Santos City-Bitung, Indonesia Asean Roro Route is set to be jointly launched by President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
The route will be served by M/V Super Shuttle Roll-on, Roll-off 12 owned by Asian Marine Transport Corporation and has a capacity of 500 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU).
The sea trade route will have a cheaper shipping cost and shorter shipping time. The current route, Davao-Manila-Jakarta-Surabaya-Bitung, has a shipping cost of $2,200/TEU or roughly around P109,098/TEU and a shipping time of three to five weeks.
The Davao-General Santos-Bitung route, meanwhile, will cost traders $700/TEU or around P34,713/TEU and a shipping time of 1.5 days, excluding port stay. The new route will give traders savings worth $1,500/TEU or around P74,000/TEU.
The sea route is seen to further spur the economic the trade between the two nations.
At present, Indonesia is one of the largest trading partners of the Philippines. As of February 2017, Indonesia ranked sixth as one of the major sources of imports at $416.22 million. Also in the same period, Indonesia is the 14th biggest export destination of the Philippines at $57.50 million.
Call for support
Monteverde also called on the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines to give Asian Marine Transport Corporation exclusivity in the operation of the route for a certain period of time.
She said this will allow the sea route to be viable and be easier to sustain. (With Edlyn S. Tayco, NDDU intern)